Hyderabad:The Enforcement Directorate (ED) yet again issued a notice to Casino organiser Chikoti Praveen. It is stated in the notices that he should attend the hearing on May 15. Earlier, the ED had registered a case against him for allegedly violating Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) norms in the casino case.
The ED officials, who have already questioned Chikoti Praveen several times in connection with the case, have once again issued a notice in the wake of the recent incident in Thailand. The ED also issued notices to Chitti Devender, Madhav Reddy and Sampath, who are believed to be involved in the casino case. Sampath attended the hearing on Tuesday in connection with ED notices. Sampath has already attended the ED investigation while the ED has issued notices to three others to appear before it. Meanwhile, Chikoti Praveen will come to Hyderabad from Thailand on May 12 and he will appear before the ED on May 15.
It may be recalled that the police busted the gambling racket in Thailand recently. Local media reported that 93 gamblers, including 83 Indians, were arrested at a luxury hotel in Pattaya. Chikoti Praveen, a casino organiser from Hyderabad, was also among those arrested. They were arrested by the police during an early morning raid at the Asia Pattaya Hotel in the Bang Lamung district of Thailand.
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A large number of gamblers were playing games when the police raided the hotel premises. On seeing them, the accused tried to flee from the spot, but the police surrounded them. A total of 93 persons were arrested, including 83 Indians, six Thais and four Myanmar nationals, according to media reports.
Police seized Rs 1.60 lakh Indian currency, gambling chips worth Rs 20 crore, 92 mobile phones and eight CCTVs from the accused. Police estimated that around Rs 100 crore of gambling was going on in this hotel. It seems that this gambling gang was discovered when the police searched the hotel on a tip-off from the intelligence department.
The police there disclosed that all the equipment used for the gambling was brought from India and further investigation was going on. It may be recalled that casino organiser Chikoti Praveen Kumar and his aide Madhava Reddy appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in connection with the alleged violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in August 2022.
The ED on July 30 raided the farmhouse of Chikoti Praveen Kumar at Kadtal in Ranga Reddy district of Telangana, and other places. On July 29, Chikoti Praveen’s residence at IS Sadan of Hyderabad and Madhav Reddy’s residence in Boinpally was raided by the investigative agency. The Enforcement Directorate noticed that Chikoti Praveen, along with others, was organising a casino for VIPs in Nepal, Bangladesh and Indonesia.
